Type-writing machine



. 5.Sheets-Sheet 1. T. F. WOODWARD. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

(No Model.)

No. 514,141. Patented Feb. 6, 1894.

WITNESSES: WKWM (No Model.) '5 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. P. WOODWARD.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

N0.'514,141.' Patented Feb. 6, 1894.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR NNNNNNNNNNNNN c.

' (NoModelJ 5 Sheets-Sheet a.

T. F. W'O'ODWARD.

TYPE WRITING MAGHINE. No. 514,141. Patented Feb. 6, 1894.-

WITNESSES: iNVENTOR WK Wm 41% ms NATIONA. lllllllllllll OMPAN'V.

. (No Model.) 5 SheetsSheet 4. Ti. WOODWAR'D. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

Patented Feb.- 6, 1894.

INVENTOR $2 away-WW4 WITNESSES D m A WM G m T WM VQYW m TY V T No. 514,141; Patented Feb 6, 1894;

FIG.

WITNESSES:

UNIT DfSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

' THEODORE F.- WOODWARD, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,141, dated February 6, 1894.

Application filed July 16,1891. Serial No. 399,675. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE F. W001)- WARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of Camden and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type- Writing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto improvements in type-writing machines and particularly to improvements in that form of machine in which the type are carried upon movable arms which are operated to strike the paper to make an impression, and, which are usually called type bar machines in contra-distinction to the machines known as wheel machines, in which the type are stationary, the impression being-made with a plunger operated by a spring.

It is well-known" that type bar machines as ordinarily constructed while being excellent for manifolding soon get out of alignment, and

that wheel machines, While always keeping manifolders.

The object of my invention is to furnish a machine which will manifold as well as any of the type bar machines now in use, and which will have an alignment equal to that of the best wheel machines.

My object is further to produce a machine of extreme simplicity and compactness, and of low cost and light weight.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which simi-. lar letters and figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views, Figure l is a plan of my type-writing machine; Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of the machine on line or. m. Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an'end view of the machine, the carriage and rear part of the frame being removed so as to show arrangement of type bars, 850.; Fig. 4:, aplan of the type-bars and the bearings in which they work; Fig. 5, a plan of the lower part of the machine showing devices for shifting the key board and for operating rock shaft which car ries pawls for regulating movement of carriage which determines the spacing; Fig. 6, a side elevation of cam for throwing key board backward; Fig. 7, a side elevation of cam for throwing key board forward; Fig. 8, an eletheir alignment, are very unsatisfactory as vation of inside end of carriage frame showing devices for driving inking ribbon spools and spacing device; Fig. 9, an elevation of part of outside end of carriage, showing devices for driving it; Fig. 10, an inside elevation of part of rock shaft and pawls for limiting movement of carriage; Fig. 11, an end elevation of Fig. 10; Fig. 12, a front elevation of movable pawl; Fig. 13, a side elevation of carriage and frame; Fig. 14, a side elevation of one of the shorter type-bars; Fig. 15,aside elevation of one of the longer type-bars; Fig. 16, a front elevation of device for holding the type-bars in place, and Fig. 17 a plan of Fig. 16.

The base of the machine is constructed in two parts, one stationary, the other movable.

The type bars T. T are preferably made from a single piece of metal, each bar preferably carrying three type--1, 2, 3so that small letters, capitals, numbers, 850., may be written by the machine. The type-bars have bearingsin the end plates D. D and are arranged preferably in the arc of a circle as clearlyshown in. Fig. 3, that is to say the type bars are placed thirteen upon each side of the machine, their centers being upon the arc of a circle whose center is in line with the point where the type impinge upon the platen. The type bars are arranged so that theirrear portions, which are secured in the bearings, are parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the machine, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The type bars are of two forms, in order that they may be compactly arranged in the machine, the upper ones T, Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 14h, being bent down and outwardly, and the lower ones T, Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4. and 15, being bent down and inwardly. The type bars are furnished with cranks F which are engaged by fingers G carried by the keys K as shown in Fig. 3. When the key is depressed the finger G upon the key engages and draws the crank F down and rotates the type bar in its bearings and throws the end which carries the type against the platen or against the paper carried by the platen.

K are springs surrounding keys K and which have a bearing against some stationary part of the key board; for instance, against the lower plate E and against a collar K or its eqivalent fast to the keys K. These springs are adapted to hold the keys in their raised position as shown in Fig. 2. The upper typebars T are the shortest ones and they have hearings in the plates D. D. The lower typebars T are longer than the upper ones and they have an additional bearing in a plate D Figs. 2, 8, 4 and 5, which also forms a stop to keep the front end of these bars from falling too low down. The shortest type bars have bearings four inches apart. The longest ones have bearings of six inches, from the plate D to plate D The length of the crank arm on the type bars is the same in both forms and in practice does not exceed two inches. The type which are formed on pieces of metal separate from the type bars are secured to the latter in any convenient manner; for instance, by electric welding.

Type-bar machines as ordinarily constructed have very short bearings and the free end of the arm is very long. In some cases the bearings are only three eighths or onefourth of an inch, while the type bar itself is from four to five inches long. Consequently if the bearings become worn, which they do very shortly, a slight change in the bearings is greatly multiplied by the length of the type-bar and the alignment becomes very bad. In my machine I have bearings of great length and the crank arm of the type-bars is short, and a change in the bearings would have to be very great to affect the alignment of the machine. In fact, the wear would never be enough in ordinary use to'afiect the alignment.

As I have three type upon each type-bar it is necessary to shift either the type bars or the platen in order to bring all the type into play. In the drawingsI have shown a device for shifting the key board and its connected parts. H. H, Figs. 2, 5, 6 and '7, are plat-es of metal which are secured to the stationary base of the machine and which are furnished with slots I. I, the upper parts of which are horizontal, and the lower parts of which are inclined. J. J are rollers which travel in slots I. I, and which are carried by straps L. L, the forward ends of which are secured to a rod M, which is carried by lugs ill secured to the movable base of the machine. When the machine is in its normal position, the center type is in position to be used. If it be desired to bring the rear type into use, the key board is moved forward by depressing the key 4, which depresses the strap II and causes wheel J to run down inclined slot I which pushes the strap L, rod M, frame B and its connected parts forward. If it be desired to use the forward type, the key 5 is depressed, which through strap L, wheel J, rod M and frame B moves the key board and its connected parts backward. The carriage N is carried upon a guide 0, Figs. 2, 8, 9, 10 and 13, which is supported in any suitable manner upon the stationary base A. In the drawings I have shown it supported upon posts P. The carriage is furnished with a rack R which is driven by a gear wheel S, Figs. 2 and 9, which is carried on a stud U carried by the guide 0. A coil spring V, one end of which is secured to stud U and the other to the gear wheel S, drives this latter. This device is common to most type-writing machines and need not be further described herein. Upon the lower part of the carriage is a ratchet W, which together with the pawls w-b limits the movement of the carriage and regulates the spacing. The fixed pawlais carried upon an arm a which is attached to a rock shaft (1 which is carried by trunnion screws c, Figs. 5 and 8, which are suitably supported in standards 6' carried by the stationary base A of the machine. Attached to the rock shaft 61 are arms g g Figs. 2, 3,5 and 8, which extend backward, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and under the keys. 9 g are levers which are pivoted to the plates D D and which rest upon the arms g. g as shown in Figs. 2 and 5; the keys K and the spacing keys K bear against the levers g 9 01' against the arms g g; as these keys are depressed they push down the arms g g and cause the rock shaft d and arm a to be reciprocated. It will be seen that the levers g g may be done away with if desired, and the arms 9 g so shaped as to be engaged by all the keys. A spring S returns these parts to theirorigiuai position. b is the movable pawl which is formed upon a flat piece of metal which is furnished with slots 1) b through which screws 1) pass; these screws are secured to the arm 0 which carries the pawl a, h is a spring, one end of which is secured to the arm 0 or rock shaft (1 and the other of which bears against the plate carrying pawl Z2.

The operation of this device is as follows:

former pawl is moved out of contact withthe ratchet the spring II operates to throw this pawl to the right as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 10, a distance equal to one tooth of the is out of gear with wheel 2'.

arm a and pawl a are returned to their original position; the pawl 12 has been moved one tooth to the right on the ratchet W, and as soon as the pawl a is out of contact with the:

ratchet, the carriage, which is driven by the spring in the gear wheel S, moves to the left carrying pawl b with it until the movement is stopped by one of the slots 6' b in this pawl bringing up against the screws 22 b whichpass through them. This operation is repeated every time a key is struck.

bon spools is shown best in Fig. 8.

The ribbon spools t' t", Fig. 5,-are carried on shafts 2 t which are supported in any suitable manner upon the stationary base A.

Upon the shafts 1' i and fast to them are toothed wheels 1 i Upon the inside of the carriage N is a diagonal slot j extending from a point near the lower left hand corner of this carriage to a point near its upper right hand corner.

1' is an arm one end of which surrounds and is free to turn on shaft i 1' is a slot in this arm and 11 a pin on this arm which projects out and enters slot j in the carriage.

i is an arm which surrounds and is free to turn on shaft 11 and 1' is. a pin projecting from the end of this arm which enters slot i i m 2,

Upon arm i is a pawl 71 and upon arm 11 is a pawl springs s throw these pawls into the teeth of wheels 11 2 or they may engage by gravity alone. In the drawings the pawl i is shown engaging wheel 2' while pawl i 7 As the carriage is driven to the left by the operation of the keys as already described, the slot j in carriage N is moved to the left and asthis movement takes place the pin i and arm 2' are raised, raising with thempin 2' and arm 71 which raises pawl 71 which turns wheel-i shaft 4? and the ribbon spool t" which is carried on this shaft which unwinds the ribbon from spool 'i which is carried by shaft '5 The operation can be reversed by throwing pawl 1' into gear with wheel 1' and by throwing pawl '5 out of gear with wheel 1 These pawls,1l 11 are thrown into or'out of gear with the ratchet wheels, 2 ,11 by the operator moving them with his finger, so that they will be engaged or disengaged by the springs, s, which hold them in gear with the teeth of the ratchets.

The spools it may be secured to shafts 11 i by means of screws 2' passing through their hubs. If this be the case, both pawls may be left in gear with the wheels 2 11 and the screw which secures the ribbon spool from which theribbon is being unwound may be loosened for different thicknesses of paper. The mechanism for driving the inking rib-' wound upon the spool on shaft A similar device may be used upon wheel i The platen p is of the ordinary construe tion. It is carried upon a shaft 19 which is journaled in bearings in arms 19" which are pivoted at p to support 19 carried by the carriage. Upon one or both of the supports, if desired, is a screw T which passes through this support.

19 is a projection from the arm 19 which bears against the screw r; the purpose of this screw and projection is to adjust the platen When several copies are being made at once they increase the diameter of the platen, and hence the blow delivered by the type to the paper varies with the number of copies that are being made. By means of the screw 1" the platen may be raised or lowered so that a blow of the same force will be delivered whether one copy is being made or several.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I have shown a device for limiting the upward movement of the type bars; this device consists, for the shorter bars T, of a bracket t which is carried by the plate D and which projects outwardly and against which the type bar impinges. In the drawings I have shown this bracket furnished with I brackets is to prevent the type'from striking the paper on the platen a blow harder than is necessary for the type to make a good im' pression. These steps serve further to prevent that part of the type-bar which carries the type from being bent when the keys of the machine are violently struck and the type thrown with undue force against the platen.

u is a ratchet wheel on the platen. 'u/ is a pawl pivoted to a lever 10 which engages this ratchet. By depressing lever 21. the pawl u engages the teeth of the ratchet and moves the platen so as to shift or turn the paper to bring a new line over the type. r

p is a spring, one end of which is secured to a projection p from lower part of lever 11 and the other end of which is secured to a projection p on the projection 11 from arm 19 and which returns lever a and pawl u to their original position after they have been operated to turn the platen.

Numerous devices may be used to prevent a lateral movement of the type bars T T in their bearings. In Figs. 16 and 17 I have shown a side elevation and plan of a device for this purpose. The type bars, see Figs. 14 and 15, are furnished with grooves 1; near their ends into which a thin plate of metal '1), Figs. 3, 4, 16 and 17, enters. This plate of metal 1) is attached to the front plate D forming one of the bearings. fortlie type bars, as shown in Fig. 4, and enters the grooves v in all the type bars and effectually prevents any lateral movement of these bars.

In Fig. 13,1 have shown by dotted lines the arm 12*, the platen p and connected parts raised so that the writing may be inspected by the operator.

1. A type-writing machine whose type-bars are divided into series, each type-bar having a pivotal portion or shaft, and an oscillating portion or arm, the pivotal portions, or shafts of the type-bars being parallel to each other and arranged in hearings in arcs of circles whose centers are in line with the point of contact of the type and the platen, and the oscillating portions being adapted to carry the type.

2. A type-writing machine whose type-bars are divided into series, each type-bar having a pivotal portion or shaft, and an oscillating portion or arm, the pivotal portions, or shafts, being parallel to each other and being arranged in bearings in segments of parallel circles.

3. A type-writing machine whose type-bars consist of a pivotal portion or shaft, and an oscillating portion or arm, the former being parallel to each other and arranged in series in the segment of the circumference of a circle.

4. The combination with the type bars as described havinggrooves v, of a plate of metal 1) secured to the frame of the machine, and adapted to enter these grooves to prevent a lateral movement of the type bars.

5. In a type-writing machine, in combination a stationary and a movable base, two cams inclined in opposite direction and attached to the stationary base, a rod carried by the movable base, stamps attached to this rod and carrying wheels adapted to engage and travel on the cams, keys attached to said straps, and a key board and type bars carried by movable base, the whole arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. A type-bar for type-writing machines, the rear portion of which is adapted to be held in hearings in the frame of the machine and to rotate in these hearings, and the front portion of which is bent first at right angles to the rear portion and then parallel to the rear portion, and which carries the type.

7. The herein described device for driving the ribbon spools and in combination with the carriage, the diagonal slot in the carriage, the ribbon spool shafts, ratchet wheels fast to these shafts, an arm on left hand shaft furnished with a slot, a pin on this arm entering diagonal slots in the carriage, an arm on right hand shaft, a pin on this arm entering slot in arm on left hand shaft, and pawls on these arms adapted to engage and turn the ratchet wheels.

8. In combination with the pivoted platen carrying arms and platen and the stationary arms to which the pivoted arms are pivoted, a projection or stop on one of the former and an adjusting screw carried by one of the latter arms and adapted to engage said stop, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

THEODORE F. WOODVYARD.

Witnesses:

CHRISTOPHER FALLON, CHAS. A. BUTTER. 

